College football [21]'s bowl season is still a few months away, but it's never too early to take a look at what the matchups might look like. With only three weeks of results in the books, it's hard to make long-term projections about teams, especially with several teams still playing overmatched non-conference games.
With little data to work with, the post-Week 5 bowl projections are a mixture between preseason projections, how things would look if the season ended today, and a small dose of the results so far this year. Expect more changes over the next few weeks, especially as we see how teams perform in conference games.
2012-2013 Post-Week 5 College Football Bowl Projections
| Bowl | Date | Tie-In | Projected Matchup |
| New Mexico | Dec. 15 | MWC vs. Pac-12 |
 Arizona vs. Nevada |
| Famous Idaho Potato | Dec. 15 | MAC vs. WAC |
 Utah State vs. N. Illinois |
| Poinsettia | Dec. 20 | BYU vs. MWC |
 BYU vs. San Diego State |
| Beef 'O'Brady's | Dec. 21 | Big East vs. C-USA |
 East Carolina vs. South Florida |
| New Orleans | Dec. 22 | Sun Belt vs. C-USA |
 UL Lafayette vs. Marshall |
| Las Vegas | Dec. 22 | MWC vs. Pac-12 |
 Washington vs. Boise State |
| Hawaii | Dec. 24 | C-USA vs. MWC |
 Fresno State vs. SMU |
| Little Caesars | Dec. 26 | Big Ten vs. MAC |
 Minnesota vs. Toledo |
| Military | Dec. 27 | ACC vs. Army |
 Duke vs. Connecticut* |
| Belk | Dec. 27 | ACC vs. Big East |
 NC State vs. Cincinnati |
| Holiday | Dec. 27 | Big 12 vs. Pac-12 |
 UCLA vs. Texas Tech |
| Independence | Dec. 28 | ACC vs. SEC |
 Wake Forest vs. Missouri |
| Russell Athletic | Dec. 28 | ACC vs. Big East |
 Miami vs. Rutgers |
| Meineke Car Care | Dec. 28 | Big Ten vs. Big 12 |
 TCU vs. Purdue |
| Armed Forces | Dec. 29 | C-USA vs. MWC |
 Houston vs. Air Force |
| Kraft Fight Hunger | Dec. 29 | Pac-12 vs. Navy |
 Navy vs. Stanford |
| Pinstripe | Dec. 29 | Big East vs. Big 12 |
 Baylor vs. Pittsburgh |
| Alamo | Dec. 29 | Big 12 vs. Pac-12 |
 Oregon State vs. Oklahoma |
| Buffalo Wild Wings | Dec. 29 | Big Ten vs. Big 12 |
 Okla. State vs. Mich. State  |
| Music City | Dec. 31 | SEC vs. ACC |
 Tennessee vs. Georgia Tech |
| Sun | Dec. 31 | ACC vs. Pac-12 |
 Arizona State vs. Va. Tech |
| Liberty | Dec. 31 | SEC vs. C-USA |
 Auburn vs. UCF** |
| Chick-fil-A | Dec. 31 | ACC vs. SEC |
 Clemson vs. Texas A&M |
| TicketCity | Jan. 1 | Big Ten vs. C-USA |
 Tulsa vs. Iowa |
| TaxSlayer.com Gator | Jan. 1 | SEC vs. Big Ten |
 Miss. State vs. Northwestern |
| Capital One | Jan. 1 | SEC vs. Big Ten |
 Georgia vs. Michigan |
| Outback | Jan. 1 | SEC vs. Big Ten |
 Wisconsin vs. Florida |
| Cotton | Jan. 4 | Big 12 vs. SEC |
 West Virginia vs. So. Carolina |
| BBVA Compass | Jan. 5 | SEC vs. Big East |
 Vanderbilt vs. Louisiana Tech* |
| GoDaddy.com | Jan. 6 | MAC vs. Sun Belt |
 W. Kentucky vs. Ohio |
| BCS Bowls | |||
| Rose | Jan. 1 | BCS vs. BCS |
 Nebraska vs. USC |
| Orange | Jan. 1 | BCS vs. BCS |
 Florida State vs. Louisville |
| Sugar | Jan. 2 | BCS vs. BCS |
 LSU vs. Kansas State |
| Fiesta | Jan. 3 | BCS vs. BCS |
 Texas vs. Notre Dame |
| National Title | Jan. 7 | BCS vs. BCS |
 Oregon vs. Alabama |
* Indicates an at-large team due to a conference unable to fill bowl slots according to Athlon's projections.
** UCF is appealing a postseason ban and for now, is eligible to compete in the 2012 postseason.
by Steven Lassan
Follow @athlonsteven [22]
(published Oct. 2, 2012)
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